Water slowly returning to Syria's Aleppo: UNICEF

GENEVA, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN's Children Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday that thanks to recent repairs to the municipal system, water is slowing returning to the northern Syrian town of Aleppo.

"For almost a month, 1.8 million people in and around the city were deliberately cut off from the public water network," UNICEF said in statement.

"The most recent water cuts in Aleppo took place on January 14 when the Al-Khafse pumping station in eastern Aleppo stopped working," it added.

According to the UN body, children have been particularly affected by water shortages since they are the most prone to contracting waterborne diseases.

They are also often the ones tasked with fetching water from various water sources.

"Children are forced to queue at wells and distribution points for hours while the city continues to experience random shelling," UNICEF continued, adding that "this negatively impacts their health, puts their lives at risk and takes away from time they could spend studying or playing."

According to estimates, at least another 10 days are needed to finalize repairs enabling water to be pumped regularly to all neighbourhoods of the war-torn city.

UNICEF said that all parties to the Syrian conflict have used water as a weapon of war, either by contaminating water sources, targeting equipment and critical infrastructure such as pipes, or withholding fuel to power water pumps.